Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 558: Identity (1)
Previously on Became the Patron of Villains...
Right after finishing the communication with Reinysius—
“Um— Lord Alon, then—”
Penia, who had been listening from the side, carefully opened her mouth, and Alon gave a small nod.
“Yes. It’s not certain yet, but there’s a good chance Evan is there.”
“Ah—!”
Penia’s face brightened instantly.
[Hmph— of course an idiot like him would still be alive— Gyaaah stop—!]
[Kyuu—!]
After acting tsundere for no reason, Basiliora got struck by Blackie’s all-out “Please be quiet!” paw punch and let out a scream.
Amid the sudden commotion, Alon sank into thought.
‘Though I still haven’t confirmed it yet—’
He recalled an old memory.
The time he had entered the Prison of Time, created by some unknown being, with Reinysius’s help.
“......”
According to Reinysius, that place did not contain only forgotten Outer Gods, and Alon himself had witnessed it directly.
Inside that dark prison—
Countless beings trapped there with even time itself frozen.
But none of that mattered to Alon.
There was only one existence he remembered.
A certain man.
He had only seen his back, so he did not know his face.
But from that back alone, Alon had felt unmistakable familiarity and closeness.
An emotion one could only feel after an incredibly long amount of time had piled up between two people.
“......”
That was why, the moment he first saw the man, Alon had found it strange.
Because he had never seen that back before.
Not in this world, nor in the memories of the other world that only Alon still remembered.
But now he understood.
Why seeing that back had felt so familiar.
Why it had felt so painfully nostalgic.
‘—He’s definitely there.’
Alon came to a conclusion.
He had never seen the face directly.
But the emotions he had felt inside that prison gave him certainty—
“Hoo—”
He let out a deep breath.
A sigh of relief.
Penia, who was smiling just the same, called out to him.
“Lord Alon.”
“What is it?”
“Your expression suddenly got much better.”
“......Did it?”
Alon raised a hand and touched the corners of his mouth.
His stiff expression that barely moved.
But Penia let out a short laugh before replying.
“Yes. I can tell.”
“And yet you’re the one making the most relieved expression of all.”
“Ahem— well, obviously? I’m not someone completely lacking in camaraderie, you know? And more than anything—”
Soon, she stared directly at Alon as she said—
“—because Lord Alon finally got his energy back.”
“......”
“That’s what makes me happiest.”
Warmth lingered even in her voice.
Alon, who had briefly lost his words—
“......I see.”
Murmured quietly.
......For some reason, it felt embarrassingly ticklish.
####
After the possibility of meeting Evan again appeared—
Alon’s group headed toward Palantia at a much faster pace than before, arriving there sooner than usual.
“Wow—”
The moment they entered their destination, Penia let out a gasp of admiration.
[Kyuu—]
[......What is this—]
At the same time, Blackie and Basiliora also exclaimed in surprise.
Palantia no longer looked the same as it had half a year ago.
An enormous central castle large enough to overwhelm even the surrounding mountains.
And surrounding that central castle, five additional castles were under construction.
Above the central castle floated a sky island even larger than the one they had seen half a year earlier.
But right now, something else entirely stole the group’s attention.
“......Huh?”
[Hm......?]
[Kyuu......??]
It was the Sea King Gods floating near Alon’s royal castle.
It was not that the sight of the Sea King Gods flying surprised them.
Previously, the Sea King Gods had already been able to drift through the sky using anti-gravity devices created by the tower masters.
The reason they were shocked was—
“Uh...... there are more of them now, right?”
[Indeed. There were definitely only two before—]
[Kyuu—?]
Because the number of Sea King Gods had increased to five.
The group collectively panicked at the sudden Sea King God duplication.
But only briefly.
“Ah— no way—”
[They’re offspring.]
As Penia voiced her realization, Basiliora immediately answered.
“They’re babies?”
[Seems like it.]
“......The babies look exactly the same as the adults though?”
[If you look carefully, they are slightly smaller.......]
“I mean, sure, but are Sea King Gods originally this huge even as babies?”
While the dumbfounded Penia and Basiliora continued their conversation, the group’s curiosity was soon resolved by—
“Welcome back, Your Majesty—!”
—Alexion, whom they met shortly afterward.
“......So originally they were small, but after eating Reinysius’s magic power they ended up like that?”
“Yes. At least, according to what Lord Reinysius told us....... Though I don’t know the details myself......”
Alexion awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
Alon asked again.
“Alexion, where is Reinysius?”
“Ah, he’s currently upstairs. He hasn’t fully moved into the royal castle yet.”
“I see.”
Alon turned around.
Truthfully, there were many things he needed to handle once he met Alexion.
No, perhaps they were mandatory.
No matter how much they had set up a double, it was still only a double. It obviously could not have actually handled the work itself.
There was undoubtedly a mountain of reports he needed to hear immediately.
“I’ll hear the reports later.”
But Alon went to find Reinysius first.
Soon, after heading upstairs—
“You’ve arrived.”
He found Reinysius alone in the second office, looking over something.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes.”
“We haven’t even properly exchanged greetings yet, so it feels a little abrupt to say this, but do you mind if we skip straight to the main point?”
Reinysius seemed to already know what Alon intended to ask.
“There’s no need to apologize. I understand your situation well enough. However— there’s something I should tell you first.”
“What is it?”
“Yes. It’s something you need to decide before entering.”
“I’m listening.”
Reinysius nodded.
“You can enter the Prison of Time right now, but I would not recommend doing so if possible.”
“......What? Why?”
Alon could not understand.
Though his face remained expressionless, his tone sounded urgent, and Reinysius answered slowly.
“It requires some explanation, but it seems better to tell you the answer first. Right now, the Prison of Time is unstable.”
“......Unstable?”
“You saw it last time as well, but the Prison of Time is essentially a reverse world. However, for some reason, that reverse world is currently suffering from coordinate instability.”
“And that prevents me from entering?”
At Alon’s question, Reinysius raised his middle and index fingers before folding the middle finger first.
“First. If you enter a reverse world suffering from coordinate instability, then if the coordinates shift while you’re inside, you could end up becoming permanently lost within the reverse world.”
Then he folded the index finger as well.
“Second. Because the coordinates are unstable, even if I open the gate, there’s a high chance you’ll appear somewhere different from where you first arrived. You want to confirm that back figure you saw at the coordinates where you were summoned, correct?”
“......”
At that question, Alon gave a small nod, and Reinysius continued as though he had been expecting it.
“If you enter now, there’s a chance you won’t see that back figure at all. Even if I open the exact same coordinates, there’s no guarantee you’ll actually arrive there.”
“And above all, the reverse world is absurdly vast,” Reinysius muttered before continuing.
“And most importantly, even if you see that back figure, you won’t be able to save him immediately.”
“......”
At those words, Alon fell silent.
Truthfully, he had already more or less expected as much.
The sights within the reverse world could only be seen, while each existence was buried randomly within completely different coordinates.
Which meant that in order to save them, one had to directly reach the coordinates where they were trapped.
“Hoo—”
Alon let out a sigh.
Everything Reinysius said, aside from the coordinate instability, was something he already knew.
But hearing it directly still left his heart complicated.
Yet only for a moment.
“!”
Suddenly, Alon remembered something.
“......Wouldn’t using the Foot That Runs Through the Past solve it?”
“I already tried using it.”
“You tried?”
“Yes, but— it didn’t really react.”
At Reinysius’s answer, Alon asked in confusion.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I experimented using belongings from his room, but there was no particular response. In other words, the transmission function isn’t operating properly.”
“......”
Alon fell silent.
But Reinysius continued speaking.
“Even so, there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Why?”
“The transmission function may not be working correctly, but— I can still read the coordinates themselves.”
“! Then that means—”
“Yes. If given a little more time, I should be able to locate the coordinates where Evan is. It’ll take some time, but—”
“—so don’t worry too much,” Reinysius added with a faint smile.
And at that—
“That’s a relief!”
“......I see.”
Penia and Alon both let out sighs of relief.
[See? What did I tell you?]
[Kyuu?]
Basiliora sounded smug as though everything had been obvious, while Blackie merely tilted its head.
####
After obtaining a few more pieces of information from Reinysius, Alon headed toward the bedroom.
Naturally so, since he had spent almost the entire time moving nonstop after hearing news related to Evan and had climbed all the way up here in an exhausted state.
So, intending to rest today and begin working tomorrow, Alon returned to the bedroom—
“......Hm?”
And there, standing inside as though waiting for him—
He saw a man.
No—
He saw Alon.
An Alon who looked exactly like him, like a doppelgänger.
For a brief moment, Alon’s eyes widened as he judged whether the figure before him was an enemy.
But then—
“Ah.”
He relaxed.
Because he belatedly remembered the double Deus had mentioned before.
......Though he certainly had not expected the double to be standing inside his bedroom.
Thud—
The doppelgänger who had been standing there immediately knelt on one knee and lowered its head.
At the same time, the transformation began unraveling.
‘......A woman?’
The figure revealed beneath it was female.
And then—
“A servant of the Blue Moon, Yuna, greets the sky, the Great Moon.”
At the words of the woman who introduced herself as Yuna while bowing her head as though she had been waiting—
A question mark soon appeared over Alon’s head.
Because he had just heard something entirely unfamiliar.
“......Blue Moon?”
......What was that?
“......Hm?”
For some reason, the question that surfaced in Alon’s mind felt strangely familiar.
